Open
by HopeCoppice
Summary: Vlad can't have his cake and eat it too. Or can he...? Polyamory, slash. Main characters: Vlad, Bertrand, Robin
1. Chapter 1

**Something new and a little unusual. This deals with a little-touched-upon-in-fanfic lifestyle and while I myself don't live this way I hope that I will put it across alright. I'll admit I've not read the book mentioned at the end of this chapter all the way through but I know enough people who have that I hope I can convey things well. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything referenced in this story.**

Vlad was watching Bertrand again. The tutor could feel his eyes following his every movement. He pretended not to notice as the Chosen One licked his lips, but he knew the boy was going to get bored of watching at some point and have to taste him; he would need to feel their lips touch, feel their bodies press together. Bertrand knew all this because he felt the same way about Vlad. It was simply a matter of patience while the boy plucked up the courage to make the first move.

Then, just as Bertrand was sure that it was finally the right moment, that Vlad was about to pounce, the doorbell rang and Vlad sped off to answer it, looking relieved. Oh, well. Bertrand could wait.

* * *

Vlad wasn't sure who he was expecting to be repeatedly ringing the doorbell like a particularly desperate double-glazing salesman, but he certainly hadn't been expecting Robin Branagh to be standing on the doorstep grinning at him.  
"You suck at mind wipes. Let me in?" He stepped forward before Vlad could quite get out of the doorway, and they collided awkwardly, Robin's nose colliding with Vlad's cheek as a spark of… _something_ surged between them. It had never really gone away, Vlad realised – he'd always had those feelings for Robin and he'd barely had chance to act on them before he left, but now…

It was the work of a moment to turn his head and press his lips to Robin's, and then Robin was kissing him back and Renfield was muttering something about sorting out a crypt and before he knew it they were all sat around the dinner table, the Count occasionally shooting a glare in Robin's direction. Bertrand took one look at the pair of them, hands linked under the table, and made his apologies before retreating to the kitchen. Vlad watched him go with a sinking feeling in his stomach; he hadn't meant to hurt his tutor, but… well, this was _Robin_, and it had just been automatic to fall into their old, comfortable patterns.

He still loved Robin; he was sure of that. Wasn't that the important thing, in the end?

* * *

"Robin," Vlad began delicately as they sat together reading comics three weeks later, "there's something I should probably tell you." Robin closed his comic and hauled himself up to a sitting position, back aching from sprawling on the floor.  
"Sounds ominous." Vlad bit his lip.  
"This is going to sound really bad, but… Well. Just hear me out. Before you showed up, I was… kinda into Bertrand. But then you came back and… I love you, you know that. But I think I might also love him." He hung his head, staring down at the floor.

Robin just stared at him for a moment before smiling and thumping him on the back.  
"Well, he's not bad-looking, can't say I blame you. Hang on." He went over to his backpack, still slung carelessly in the corner of his room as he hadn't bothered to unpack yet, and began rummaging through it.  
"You're not… angry? Upset?" Robin shook his head and handed him a book.  
"No. I would have been, when we were first going out, when we were kids. Now I'm fine with it. Look, just have a read of this."

Vlad stared down at the title of the volume in his hands – thick by most standards, but it felt like the slimmest of paperbacks compared to what Bertrand usually forced him to study.  
_The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities, by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt._


	2. Chapter 2

**Short update. Just a correction to the previous AN - I have actually only read part of the previous edition of this book. Still, I'm hopefully not going too far wrong. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing referenced herein is mine, not even the lifestyle. And yes, I know that makes this risky.**

Vlad read the title again in disbelief.  
_The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities, by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt.  
_"Robin, I… we've never even – _Infinite Sexual_ – where did you _get _this?"  
"Ian and Paul were chucking it out. It wasn't what they thought it was. I thought I might as well read it, and… yeah, it kind of makes sense. It's not about sex though, not really, it's about… well, love and stuff." Vlad relaxed slightly; love was confusing enough at the moment, the last thing he needed was for Robin to get ideas about _sex_.

"Why are you telling me to read a book about love, then?" Robin reached out for his free hand, and Vlad let him take it as they settled back down on the floor.  
"It's about how you can love more than just one person at a time. It's alright, it doesn't mean you fancy me any less, just 'cos you fancy him too. Have a read, see what you think." And with that, Robin scooped his comic up and picked up where he'd left off, as Vlad began to turn the pages of the book he'd been handed.

Almost an hour passed before either of them spoke again – Robin was on his second read-through of Vlad's entire comic collection – and it was Vlad who broke the silence.  
"So… you're saying I can… I… what are you saying, Robin?"  
"You want Bertrand, right? Go and get him."  
"You want me to cheat-?"  
"No." Robin's voice was firm. "No, if you ever cheat on me it's over. But you can see Bertrand, it'll make you feel better if nothing else. No more wistful looks and guilty training sessions. I've _seen_ you, Vlad. Go for it. Just don't cheat."

The Chosen One thought he'd actually rather try to decipher one of Bertrand's books than what Robin was saying, because it didn't make much sense to him.  
"So… I can look but not touch, or…?"  
"Look, touch, anything – well. Stick to snogging for now, yeah, we'll talk about everything else later. But it's not cheating as long as we all know where we stand. No sneaking around, just… as long as we're honest it'll be OK." Vlad blinked at him.

* * *

Robin sighed – Vlad wasn't going to understand this until Robin proved he was OK with it, was he?  
"You've read the book, at least the first bit. Do you want Bertrand or not? Honestly." The vampire hesitated.  
"Yeah, I do. I'm really sorry, Robin, it's not that I don't-" Robin didn't let him get any further, picking up the book and dragging his boyfriend along behind him until he found himself in the training room for the first time ever.

"What are you doing in here?" Bertrand appeared from nowhere, in full-on intimidation mode, but Robin just squeezed Vlad's hand reassuringly. This was the scary bit; he was pretty sure Bertrand returned Vlad's feelings, but if he wouldn't admit to that Vlad would be humiliated. Still, faint heart…  
"Vlad thinks you're really hot and he won't ask you out 'cos he thinks I'd have a problem with it." Bertrand raised an eyebrow, eyes sweeping over the battered book in Robin's other hand.  
"_The Ethical Slut_? It's been a while since I read it. What are you suggesting, Branagh?" He didn't bother trying to conceal his surprise that Bertrand had come across the book before, but he didn't waste time questioning it either.  
"I don't think Vlad should have to choose. And I don't have a problem with it if you two don't." Bertrand swept a calculating look over the pair of them before nodding slightly, as if to himself.

Vlad's eyes hadn't left his shoes through the whole conversation, but Bertrand, with a glance at Robin that couldn't _possibly_ be a request for permission, tucked a finger under his chin and lifted it gently until the Chosen One was staring into his eyes.  
"What do you think, Vlad?"


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a pretty long chapter I guess, compared to the previous two, but it kinda all belongs together. Also I've been writing all night and just wanted to get this up, so please excuse any mistakes or just... plain... stupidity contained herein.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing in this is mine. I'm just scrambling things together to see what happens.**

Vlad stared into Bertrand's eyes, suddenly hyper-aware of the other vampire's cold finger under his chin, Robin's warm, solid presence as he gave Vlad's hand another little reassuring squeeze. Everything was happening very fast. If his heart could beat, he knew it would be pounding; as it is, it felt like his brain was filling in for it. Thoughts flew through his head in an erratic pulse of information.

_Bertrand's touching me._

_I'm with Robin. Robin's here._

_Robin said this was OK._

_Bertrand couldn't possibly be interested in me._

_Bertrand seems interested._

_Robin's still here, it's still OK._

_How is this OK?_

_I couldn't just fall in love with one person? Bad enough for a vampire…_

_But I do love Robin. I do. I love him. I've always loved him._

_Well then, that settles it, doesn't it?_

_But there's that same feeling in my stomach whenever I see Bertrand…_

_This has to be some kind of trick._

_Doesn't it?_

He'd hesitated too long; Bertrand began moving backwards, apparently accepting Vlad's silent rejection. There was no accusation in his gaze, no anger, just a quiet resignation Vlad realised he'd seen on Bertrand's face a lot since Robin had come back.

_He really does care._

_He's not going to push it._

_This is really up to you, Vlad._

_Don't mess it up._

_What do you think, Vlad?_

_What do you want?_

He squeezed Robin's hand tightly, feeling the answering squeeze, and brought his other hand up to cup Bertrand's face. Apparently, that surprised his tutor. That was a gratifying, and somewhat novel, experience in itself. Then Bertrand leant in slightly, and Vlad mirrored the movement, and then somehow the gap between them had closed and Bertrand's lips were on his, and Robin's hand in his own was all that was keeping him from completely going to pieces. There was a whole book about crazy situations like this, people really lived like this and it worked for them…

He had no idea how this was happening, or whether he'd wake up tomorrow to find it was all a cruelly wonderful dream, but if this was real… if Bertrand was really drawing away to check that Vlad was alright, if Robin was really looking on with a slightly bemused smile, if Vlad was really pulling Bertrand back in… he _liked_ it.

If he could hold onto this, Vlad thought, it was good.

* * *

Robin was watching two very attractive men share their first kiss, barely a metre away from him, and he was holding one of their hands, and that one was his boyfriend, and his stomach felt a bit funny. He'd read the book, of course, he'd thought it was awesome, but he'd never had a boyfriend to see how it felt with before. That wasn't the point, of course; he would never have given Vlad the book just to experiment with his own feelings. It was just that it took a little getting used to, in practice.

He was watching his boyfriend kiss another man. It was… well, he had to admit it was kind of _hot_. Really hot, actually; Bertrand wasn't exactly ugly, far from it, and Vlad was… _Vlad_. And they were both vampires, so it was really just like one of his dirty teenage fantasies playing out in front of him. But that wasn't the point either. This – Bertrand and Vlad, whatever that came to – wasn't about Robin.

He was watching Vlad kiss someone else. And as happy as he was for his boyfriend, for the best friend he'd watched tear himself apart over his conflicted feelings for the last couple of weeks, as happy as he was that Vlad was free of that horrible dilemma… there was a little stirring of something that felt like jealousy, deep down inside. That was Vlad, _his_ Vlad.  
_No,_ said a little voice in Robin's head, _he's not a possession. You can't keep him to yourself any more than you could give him away._

Then Vlad turned away from Bertrand, back towards Robin, and everything about him was screaming _is this okay?_ What could Robin do but nod? Vlad seemed to understand, and he took a step back towards his boyfriend.  
"I love you." He lifted their linked hands and pressed a gentle kiss to Robin's knuckle. Jealousy flew out the window – Vlad had come back to him, he hadn't run off into the night with Bertrand, he still wanted him – as Robin leant in to claim his boyfriend's lips once again. He tasted faintly of what Robin assumed was Bertrand. That was OK; he'd get used to that.

More important right now was that his tongue was in Vlad's mouth, and his hand was entwined with Vlad's, comfortably crushed between their chests, his other hand coming up to run through Vlad's hair as the vampire let out a tiny moan. Bertrand hadn't done those things; Robin was still Vlad's primary partner and for now, until he worked out how to get rid of the jealousy altogether, that would be enough.

* * *

Bertrand couldn't believe Vlad had really kissed him. He'd been so sure the boy was going to turn him down, given the unusual circumstances of the offer, and the long hesitant pause before he actually made a decision, and the way he clung to the breather's – _Robin's_ – hand. And then… Bertrand hadn't felt this good in longer than he cared to remember, and all he'd done was kiss the boy, a chaste kiss, then another. It was the start of something, though, something Bertrand had longed for.

He would have to start thinking of the breather – _Robin_ – with a little more respect, he realised, if they were to be metamours. Bertrand might not have read _The Ethical Slut_ recently, but he remembered that much. Good relationships between all parties were essential. He couldn't help but watch as Vlad turned back to Robin. Was the boy changing his mind? Had his curiosity concerning Bertrand been satisfied? Had – he frowned slightly at the thought – had he been found wanting, somehow, something lacking in his kissing technique? Had it not been good?

Vlad moaned slightly against Robin's lips, and Bertrand struggled not to envy the breather who'd provoked such a reaction. They looked so intimate, hands clasped between them, eyes closed, kissing as if Robin didn't need to take breathing into consideration. Then Vlad pulled back for the briefest of instants, eyes fluttering open, and both Robin and Bertrand could see the new-found confidence in his expression as he glanced behind him and held out a hand to the older vampire. Bertrand took it, and he and Robin exchanged a slightly awkward nod, linked by Vlad.

* * *

Vlad pulled Bertrand a little closer, wanting him to know he hadn't changed his mind, and took a moment to press another kiss against Robin's lips. Then he took a deep, completely unnecessary breath, and broke the moment. This was when he would find out if it was really a dream, he knew.  
"So I suppose we need to talk about this?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Short chapter, maybe not the most exciting, but important I feel. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: None of this is mine.**

"We're really doing this? All of us?" Robin nodded, and Bertrand followed suit. "So… how does this… are you two going to be…?"  
"No." Robin was pretty firm on that. "No, that's not how it works. And that… what just happened, that's not how it's gonna be usually. Right?" Bertrand shook his head, then realised that was a rather ambiguous gesture to make under the circumstances.  
"Right. It's not about threesomes and orgies, Vlad." He'd thought he was clarifying, but Vlad's mouth dropped open. He supposed it was probably strange to hear your stuffy 400-year-old tutor talking about threesomes and orgies as if those were just normal, everyday words.  
"Right. Of course not." The Chosen One shook his head, as if to clear it. "So… are there rules?"

* * *

Bertrand looked across at Robin, but Robin didn't want that to be how things worked. It seemed like too much pressure on him, and too little trust in Bertrand, and just plain confusing for Vlad, and frankly Robin didn't think they could pull this off if they weren't on a level playing field.  
"We'll decide them together."  
"Now?" Vlad seemed surprised.  
"Well, no time like the present, is there?" The Chosen One had to stifle a giggle. "What?"  
"You sounded just like your Dad for a minute there." Robin smacked his arm, but Bertrand had that look on his face again, the one Robin had very quickly learnt meant his brain was working at three times the speed of any normal person's.  
"It's _your_ Dad we need to worry about, Vlad." The smile slipped from Vlad's face as he recognised the truth of his tutor's words. "But we'll talk about that after we sort things out between the three of us."

* * *

An hour later, they'd all agreed that honesty was going to be really important and that they were going to need to work out some kind of schedule to make sure nobody was left out of seeing each other. Robin and Vlad were bickering lightly about the relative values of Thursdays and Tuesdays, so Bertrand left them to it for a while. He was thirsty, and he certainly didn't want to put himself in a position where losing control seemed not only possible, but likely.

When he returned, he was carrying a bottle of Barrister '75 for himself, a bottle of soy blood for Vlad, and a bottle of coke for Robin. He was determined to play nice, to make this work. He had never really imagined that he could have the Chosen One all to himself, but the idea of being with him in some capacity was just too good to resist.

He had wanted Vlad since not long after he'd met him, but he'd hardly dared to dream that he could want him back. He, Bertrand du Fortunesa, was in no way worthy of the Chosen One's attention. Then it had seemed so clear that the boy was a coiled spring, waiting to make a move, and Bertrand hadn't even minded that it was just for lack of options. Then Robin had appeared, and just like that it was over. Vlad had confirmed that Bertrand was just a stopgap, a meaningless crush to pass the time while he waited for the return of the boy he really wanted. Bertrand had accepted it with as much grace as he could muster. And now he had another chance. Yes, Bertrand was going to play nice. This was too good a situation to ruin.

* * *

If Robin was surprised to be handed a bottle of coke by Bertrand, who'd never seemed to like him, it was nothing to how he felt when Vlad, accepting a bottle of soy blood, held up a hand.  
"Wait. Blood. What are the rules on blood?" Bertrand frowned.  
"If you're worried about draining – _oh_." The frown only deepened, and Robin was beginning to get anxious.  
"What am I missing? You're not gonna make me drink it, are you?" Vlad shook his head, but Bertrand was looking at Robin as if he'd just taken away his most prized possession. After a moment, he bit his lip.  
"I'll just..." Then off he went, still clutching his bottle of blood, and Robin turned to Vlad for an explanation.  
"If we're… if I kiss Bertrand and then kiss you… there's a _tiny_ risk of infection from any blood he's been drinking."  
"So… what, you're cutting him out?" That seemed harsh, but Vlad's grimace suggested that Bertrand might have found that preferable.  
"No. He's gone to put the blood away, I think. You should probably see a doctor when you get chance, you know… because of earlier."

Robin blinked at him, then turned to see Bertrand standing in the doorway, holding a bottle of soy blood.  
"Vlad, d'you mind if I-? Just until I can get hold of my own stash." Vlad shook his head, and Robin stared as Bertrand came to sit down. The tutor stared glumly at the bottle for a moment, but then his eyes flicked up to rest on Vlad and Robin could tell that he'd just decided it was worth it.  
"To us, then?" He raised his coke bottle in an attempt to lift the mood, and the vampires clinked their own bottles against it. Well, they didn't so much clink against the plastic as make a kind of dull thudding sound, but they tried.  
"Here's to us," Vlad agreed, "and this whole crazy thing."  
"To us." Bertrand seemed more solemn than ever, but he drank the toast with the rest of them and only grimaced slightly.  
"So… where do we go from here?" Vlad seemed to be looking to Robin for an answer, but it was Bertrand who finally spoke.  
"Bed."


	5. Chapter 5

**Another update! This one's a little more reflective. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Vlad lay staring up at the darkness of his coffin lid, just a few inches from his face. It had been an extremely weird evening.

He'd thought, once he told Robin how he felt… he'd thought Robin would break up with him, or sulk, or… he wasn't sure exactly. It wasn't as if he'd _wanted_ Robin to sulk or break up with him, but the last thing he'd expected was for Robin to take his hand and lead him right into Bertrand's arms.

They were _sharing_ him, he supposed, and while Bertrand sharing anything with a breather was a minor miracle in itself, let alone giving up blood for the cause… he wasn't sure how he felt about being shared. Mind you, it had all been his choice, hadn't it? They had offered him the chance to love and be loved by both of the people he fancied most in all the world – the people he cared about more than anyone but his own family – and he had taken it.

He wondered how Robin really felt about it all; he wondered how Bertrand felt, being offered the chance to be with him, but only if he shared. Vlad knew Bertrand had wanted him for a while; it was obvious, with hindsight, he just hadn't seen it until Bertrand had let him kiss him. But now he wondered how this arrangement felt to his tutor. Vlad might be getting the best of both worlds, but how did Bertrand feel?

* * *

Bertrand pulled his shroud tighter around himself, fighting a shiver he was sure was just his mind playing tricks on him. He wasn't thirsty; he closed his eyes and replayed the events of earlier in his head, Vlad kissing him over and over while Robin looked on. He didn't mind that he wasn't the only person in Vlad's life; he had never expected that, not really. He knew, also, that it wasn't a competition; if forced to choose one or the other, Vlad would cling to Robin.

It wasn't something he'd ever really had to consider before; he and Mori had never been exclusive, but they'd never really been in a relationship, either. There were no complicated feelings there, just an occasional physical connection and a strong friendship. They'd shared coffins with half of Europe, between them – not to mention that brief liaison Mori had had with an admittedly handsome GI back in the '40s – and it had never been a problem. This was different, though; this was a relationship, just a relationship that happened to include more than two people.

_Just_ a relationship. Bertrand frowned up at the ceiling. He'd never been in one of those before. At least this way, with Robin there for Vlad too, if he messed up… if he couldn't be all that Vlad needed… Vlad wouldn't be alone. He wouldn't be stuck with Bertrand's sub-standard affection. Bertrand knew Robin would take care of him, because for all that he was a breather he was Vlad's best friend as well as his lover. He didn't have to worry that Vlad would be neglected.

What he couldn't work out, really, was why Robin – who already _had_ Vlad, who could hold him in his arms and kiss him and keep him from the rest of the world if he wanted to – would choose to suggest this arrangement. It had clearly been Robin's suggestion, based on Vlad's feelings though it might have been, and Bertrand couldn't get his head around it. What was in it for Robin?

* * *

Robin shifted uncomfortably in his coffin, tucking his blanket around himself as best as he could. He loved the whole vampire thing, but this was not the comfiest coffin he could have hoped for, nor the warmest room. With hindsight. he was glad Vlad had talked Renfield out of putting him in a cellar room.

He was quite pleased, actually, with the way the day had turned out. He and Vlad were on good terms, and there'd be no more angst from Vlad every time he so much as thought about training… Besides, Bertrand seemed happy too, and Robin had been harbouring his fair share of guilt himself over the way he'd waltzed in and taken the vampire's happiness from him without so much as a warning. He wasn't blind; he'd seen the way they acted together, and it was obvious that had Robin just kept his distance, Bertrand and Vlad wouldn't have taken very long to become a couple. A great couple who cared deeply for one another.

Bertrand had been so incredibly _nice_ about it all, and it had come as a relief when he was just as accepting of Robin's suggestion that they _all_ get what they want. He'd thought, for a horrible moment, that he might reject it out of hand – he was an old-fashioned guy in many respects, after all – or out of spite. Then there'd been that horrifying second when Vlad had frozen, and he'd thought his boyfriend hated the idea, before he seemed to decide he wasn't dreaming after all.

But then they'd all spent all that time together just chatting and working things out and drinking – Robin didn't even know how to react to that strange conversation about blood, but he was amazed by Bertrand's approach to the whole thing – and it had been nice. He hoped that he'd get to spend a little more time with Bertrand, now, because he seemed like a person Robin could come to be friends with. Besides, he was a vampire, and Robin still thought that was as amazing as he had when he'd been fourteen. He hoped they could all benefit from the arrangement; Vlad would get everything he needed from some source or another, they could all trust each other, and Robin and Bertrand could still see other people if they wanted. Yes, he thought this could work.

He closed his eyes and slept soundly.


End file.
